Million Dollar Houses
by beautifulxXxpeople
Summary: "So what if I was just a painter ... painting houses on the rich blue coast? Would you ever try to leave me ... for somebody who deserves you most?" "Of course not. What makes you think that, Soul?" "Uh, your dad. And your million dollar house." MakaxSoul, inspired by a song and also an AU story. R&R please :)
1. No wallpaper, please

**Heyyy :D so this is an AU story, although most things are the same. It's still in Death City, and everyone's relationships with each other are pretty much the same, and I tried to keep their personalities the same too. It's just that there's no soul-eating or DWMA or people turning into weapons. It's just a regular, modern world.**

**Summary: Maka Albarn is rich and smart, but people just think she's a brat. Will she ever meet someone who would care enough to know her for who she REALLY is? And is it likely that someone would be a poor, bitter, albino, under-paid painter boy, out of all people?**

**Also inspired by the song "Million Dollar Houses" by Pierce the Veil. The story line is pretty much gonna be similar to the song :3**

**So, enjoy! 8DD**

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I am Maka. But people usually know me as the "VM's daughter" or "the rich girl." Honesty, I _hate_ those labels. Yeah, I might be rich, but it's all because of my father, and I'm not even slightly proud of him.

People also always ignore how I've got smarts, too. School or street smarts, I know a lot of things. But I'm just the snobby rich brat. Nothing more.

**~X8X~**

"Well?! How do you like it?!"

My jaw dropped. "Dad ... I freaking hate it! Why would I want my room painted like _that?!"_

Dad's the Vice Mayor of Death City, Nevada. It's a pretty easy job for him. The mayor, who we like to call "President Death" is simply great at wiping away any criminals and bankrupt businesses, so most of the time he doesn't need Dad's help.

So since he's usually not needed for his own job, Dad's busy screwing different women each night. Then begs to make me happy with big fluffy teddy bears and chocolate truffles.

He sighed. In his hand was a sample of a wallpaper he was thinking of painting on my walls. The background was white, then the words "DADDY'S #1 GIRL" was slammed repeatedly on the white in bold, hot-pink letters. God, it was awful.

"B-but ... don't you want to repaint your room?" he said.

"I like the way it is now - simple and beige," I said flatly, plopping down on the couch and pulling out a book to read.

Ah, _The Mockingjay_ of _The Hunger Games Trilogy_.My friend Liz Thompson suggested it-

"What about this one!"

I turned to glare at Dad. He held up a wallpaper that was green in the background, dotted with yellow flowers.

"NO! Dad, just go away," I snapped, face-palming. "Or at least find any colors to paint the rest of this house. Like, the kitchen's way too bland, so work on that! Jeez!"

Dad looked like he was in the verge of tears. "Oh ... okay, Maka. Maybe I can paint the kitchen with, like ... er. but do you like the Daddy's #1 Girl wallpaper-"

He stopped at the way I was glaring. "Paint the kitchen a brighter color. Make the walls pure white then the cabinets an aqua blue. I don't know, just make yourself useful and stop having those stupid affairs. You're a grown man."

He stared at the Daddy's #1 Girl wallpaper with a blank expression. "Oh, all right. And maybe I can paint the living room, too. Then the house's exterior," he rambled with a clearly sad tone.

Great. Dad's trying way too hard to please me. Can't he see that when Mom left us, my respect for him vanished too?

**~X8X~**

I walked into President Death's family room and jumped on the couch next to a black-haired kid.

"Hey Kid," I grinned, masking my annoyance from earlier. I'd decided to visit a friend and avoid Dad for the day. And since most people thought I was too bratty or too smart to hang out with, I turned to one of my only friends. One who trusts me so much he gave me a spare key to his big rich house so I can crash in there whenever I wanted.

Pres. Death's son returned a smirk to me. He's an odd kid for sure. He was born with three horizontal white stripes on the left side of his coal-black hair, and his eyes are a light honey color, finished with a pale complexion. His expressions are always indifferent, his slightly-arched eyebrows giving him a look like, _I'm too good for you._

And to top it all off, he was deadly OCD. With symmetry. He even makes me redo my ponytails just so both sides were equal to each other. What a drama queen.

Death the Kid put the channel on a documentary on symmetrical shapes. Oh jeez.

"Running away from your creepy father, aren't you Maka?" he said without looking at my face, but at my ponytails, checking if they were symmetrical. When he deemed them symmetrical, he turned back to the television.

"Yeah, duh. No other reason I'd be here," I laughed. "Where's Liz and Patti?"

Liz and Patti were sisters and worked with Kid, who trains as a future president of Death City (yes, you even have to train to be good enough for the job) and in return for their assistance, Kid let the sisters live with him in his large mansion (they used to live in the streets).

"Ah, they're out shopping."

"Oh," I replied, pulling a random photo album off the coffee table next to the leather couch and flipping through it like it was mine. "Hey, did you get one of the rooms re-painted?" I remembered Dad with his dumb paint color samples back home.

Kid nodded. "Father hired the best painter too. He's our age but he still did a pretty good job."

"Maybe he's an artist, so no big deal," I shrugged with indifference. "It's just painting walls anyway."

Kid chuckled. "I suppose you're right. Yet you should've seen him. He looked so focus as he painted our basement."

I rolled my eyes and put the photo album away. "My dad wants to repaint our house. Probably the _entire _house. He probably doesn't know what else to do with all his money other than spend it on alcohol."

"Oh, poor you."

"Kid, I don't know how I can go on like this. It's kind of like I'm the mom and he's the baby. He's irresponsible and cries like ... like a baby! And just last night I caught him!"

_"Again?"_ Kid gasped, trying to choke back a laugh. "I wouldn't be surprised if he came up with an STD one of these days."

"Exactly," I growled. "Then I'll run away for sure."

Kid went silent for a moment. I couldn't tell if he was watching the documentary and mentally crying for joy at all the symmetry, or maybe he was thinking of something else. His expression turned kind of pitiful and mixed with wistfulness, but I tried not to dwell on it. It's probably just Kid being Kid.

Then, a rhythmic knock came at the door.

"Liz and Patti?" I guessed.

Kid glanced at the clock hanging right above the television set. "Huh, are you serious? Do you have any idea how long it takes for Liz to find even one outfit good enough for her approval? And then she has to bring Patti to Build-A-Bear Workshop so she wouldn't start bitching later-"

"Okay, I get it! Not Liz and Patti!" I said. "But who else would come here? It's so boring," I added, laughing as I made my way to my door, ignoring Kid snapping, " ... just shut the hell up-"

I went to get a quick glass of orange juice, gulped it down, and hurriedly walked to the door.

"Jeez, they just keep knocking for five minutes straight?" I grumbled. I turned the golden knob that resembled the exotic color of Kid's eyes and swung the mahogany door open.

Honestly, I was pretty taken aback when I saw who was standing there. I've never seen him before in my life either.

He was around my age. I noticed his ice-white hair first, which was spiky and unruly. His eyes were deep red, and had a broody look to them, which subconsciously kind of ticked me off, like his face was saying, _I don't give a fuck, loser. _His skin had a soft tan to them. He had the sleeves of his blue plaid button-down shirt rolled up over his firm elbows, and at his feet were purchased cans of paint in royal colors.

It was kind of obvious his sight of me took him aback as well, probably because he knows about me being the nerdy or bratty daughter of Spirit Albarn. **(A/N: I don't know if Spirit has a last name or not so I'll just use Albarn to make it simple :3)**

"Uhh, are you ... " the boy squinted at something written right on the palm of his tan hand. " ... pr-president ... oh, President Death?"

"Do I look like I'm President Death?" I snapped at him.

Whoa ... why'd I snap suddenly? Was it because of that permanent, sulky look on his face? But a person's expression usually wouldn't throw me off. It's just a freaking face.

Then why'd I snap?

"Ah, well, sorry," he apologized with a little sarcasm.

"You're at the right place," I said quickly, trying to make up for snapping unexpectedly. Turning to the living room,I called out, "Hey, Kid! The painter's here!"

"Are you Kid's friend?" the boy at the door asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Name's Maka. Why don't you come in?"

"All right, _Maka_," he smirked, grabbing the cans of paint and walking in.

Huh ... he's pretty bitter and sarcastic. Maybe it wasn't a mistake to snap at him instantly.

While Kid and the other boy walked to the room Pres. Death wanted painted, I told Kid I was leaving to go home. He nodded, but only barely, then went back to talk to the other guy.

Gah, I'm no use to him now. I walked out of the Death Manor and closed the door behind me, heading home to find Dad in the living room with a skanky-looking stranger in a tight red tank-top and gross thongs.

Oh, life.

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**So, how was it?! Please review and tell me what you thought of it.**

**Well, until next time! O3O**


	2. Hi, my name is-

**Hey thank you guys soooo much for the great reviews!**

**So, here's chapter two :DD Hope you like it!**

* * *

I woke up to find a stuffed bunny with a lacy pink bow between its ears, placed snugly in my arms. OH great ... Did Dad give me this?

I held it in front of my face. A plush red heart that had the words "_Daddy's Girl"_ embroidered on it was stitched to the bunny's paws.

Agh. It_ is_ Dad's.

I sighed and put it back between my arms. It was soft like a fuzzy pillow, and reminded me of the times Mom would give me a teddy bear or stuffed giraffe as Dad read me a bedtime story. Then I'd hear them fighting in their bedroom, trying to be quiet about it for my sake.

Gosh, I missed Mom.

**~X8X~**

"Good morning, Maka!" Dad said. At the dining table were countless plates piled with mutated pancakes and spilled scrambled eggs - Dad's cooking fail.

I sat down and started eating. "Yeah, good morning," I said groggily. I drank down my milk and put a couple strips of steaming bacon on my plate.

"Did ... you have a ... good night's sleep?"

His tone made it clear that he was embarrassed about me finding him with that woman last night. And he should be. He does it all the time, no matter how much he tries to stop.

"Sure," I shrugged, mentally rolling my eyes. "Did you get any of the rooms painted?"

He flushed. "Um ... no."

"Well, why not?" I snapped. "Why can't you get the rooms painted instead of-"

I stopped. For a while now I've realized I kind of _did_ sound like a spoiled brat. I bossed Dad around a lot and would get short-tempered easily. But it was that way only with Dad. Maybe because of all his affairs and bad habits with our money.

"Er, sorry," I mumbled. I can put up with Dad, can't I? I'll just paint the house myself and let him play like the little kid he really is ...

"No, no, it's okay," Dad smiled weakly. "You can go to Kid's house, and I'll take care of the painting. I promise I won't visit Chupa Cabra's today. Or tonight."

"That's a pretty hard thing for you to do," I noted, finishing my pancake and getting another one. I grabbed the syrup and poured some on it, slicing it into neat triangular pieces like a pizza. "Are you _so sure_ you can-"

I noticed Dad was started to cry.

"Oh, Dad," I said. "Why are you crying _this_ time?!"

"Maka, Daddy just loves you so much, and ... " He wiped his face with his greasy apron. "I-I wanna make you happy! Go and have fun today! Daddy'll take care of everything, I promise! I'm gonna paint the whole house in your favorite colors, too! D-Do you like magenta, Maka?"

My eyes widened, resenting him when he acted this way. "D-Dad, stop wiping grease on your face! You'll break out! Jeez!"

On second thought, maybe the pimples would steer women away from him. I laughed at the thought of it.

"I'm sorry," Dad choked.

He gets like that a lot. But still, the way it seems like he doesn't try to stop flirting with women still can piss a daughter off. He's the main reason why Mom had such a hard time and finally left.

"Well, fine," I said, grinding my teeth. "If you promise to avoid that bar and do something useful instead, I guess I can give you a chance ... "

Dad gave me a teary crocodile smile. Yikes.

**~X8X~**

I went over to Kid's house instantly, wanting to avoid Dad, yet wishing I'd be there to yell at him if he even tried to go to the bar.

I pulled out the symmetrical bronze key from my back pocket and slipped it into the key hole, turning it and opening the mahogany door. I remembered, for some reason, the white-haired boy from yesterday, and how he'd walked through this door with a smirk directed at me, his walk relaxed as he went over to Kid.

"Kid? Hey Kiiiid!" I yelled through the manor. "Lord Death? Mr. Mayor of Death City? Anybody hooooome?"

I peeked into countless doors, finding no one.

Hm. That's strange. Usually _someone_ would be here.

I walked by the kitchen. Nobody. The living room was empty, also, but the television was on. Curious, I walked in. The channel was on _The Walking Dead_. One of the characters was suddenly jumped by a zombie.

"Ahh!" I squeaked. I quickly turned it off. Who in the Death Manor would be watching THAT?! Oh, wait, _Death_ Manor. Of course.

When I turned the TV off, I heard footsteps. I perked up, glad someone _was _home. But what the hell, they didn't hear me yelling through the house?!

I heard the footsteps upstairs, so I ran up one of the staircases on either side of the entrance (even the layout of the house had to be symmetrical ...) and I turned to a right. The footsteps sounded closer now.

I stopped outside a white door - the stairs to the Death Manor attic. The footsteps were just above me now.

I opened the door and walked up, keeping silent. For some reason, the sound of the footsteps was unfamiliar to me. Kid's footsteps were even and steady, being the symmetrically-crazy guy he is. Patti's, on the other hand, were completely random, since the girl skipped around on her toes a lot. Liz's footsteps were (how can I explain it?) lady-like, I guess.

And Pres. Death's never here anyway, so no footsteps.

But the footsteps I was hearing just now were totally slow and loud, like the person applied more pressure to their heel than anything else, and liked to take their time stomping around.

Finally, I got to the attic door. I twisted the knob and busted through like a boss, fast and light on my feet.

"AH!" I jumped suddenly. I'd walked in and right into the white-haired boy from yesterday, yellow paint smeared on his cheek.

"Whoa," he said in slight surprise, stepping back when I walked in. We just stared at each other, our faces inches apart. I can smell the mint-flavored gum in his mouth as he chewed it with his lips slightly open. I slightly wrinkled my nose, indicating how much I hated people who chewed gum like that. **(A/N: I chew my gum like that xD sorry but it's a habit hehe)**

My face flushed, and I quickly moved away from him. He rolled his eyes and stepped back again, coughing lightly into a fist. Clearly, we didn't expect (or did we want) to run into each other. But if he's here, then where the hell is-

"Maka, hello," Kid grinned at me from beside the attic window. Patti was sitting on the floor next to his feet, humming a tune as she colored in a picture book.

I was momentarily lost for words. "Uhhhh ... what are you all doing here?"

"Do you _always_ come to this guy's house?" the white-haired guy retorted. "What are you, his girlfriend?"

Kid and I blushed red. Patti laughed and yelled, "You guys look like tomatoes!"

"No!" I snapped. Here we go again. "I'm just a friend!"

He shrugged and climbed up a wooden ladder, rolling yellow paint onto the highest part of the wall. "Okay, whatever, _Maka."_

Kid cleared his throat. "He came this morning to start painting. And since Patti and I were bored, we just stayed up here with him."

I watched the guy paint. He looked focused all right. I took note of his clothes, and they immediately told me this kid was probably trying to earn some money, because he didn't have a lot at all.

"Right," I nodded.

"Hey, can you hand me that?" the boy said, pointing at a dirty rag on a stool next to my feet.

I picked it up, grimacing, and raised my hand to give it to him. He wiped his forehead with it, then tossed it back to the stool.

"Thanks, Maka," he said indifferently.

What the hell is with this guy?! He keeps saying my name, and still wouldn't introduce himself?

"Sure," I said, rolling my eyes. I'm hating this guy more by the minute...

I looked around the large attic. The whole room was empty and covered in white sheets.

Then, I spotted Kid's black skateboard behind the door. As Patti drew all her attention to her coloring book and Kid stared out the window while talking with the painter boy, I discreetly placed the skateboard under the ladder that supported him, then stood back with a smirk.

Wait ... why'd I just do that?! If he stepped on the skateboard, he'd slip and probably get injured, and I'd be no better than him! What the hell!

"My father runs that school, actually," Kid was saying.

"Really?" the painter said. "Cool. I, uh, used to go to that school."

"'Used to'?" Kid asked.

"Yeah ... I dropped out ... "

I bit my lip and thought about stuffing the skateboard away, contradicting my previous thoughts.

But, he's kind of rude. Why not? They won't even suspect me really.

Oh, but it's just mean! I scolded myself and started to make my way toward the skateboard ... but, too late.

The boy made his way down the ladder, keeping his eyes above him and not below, and I drew back, my face red. _Oh no-_

"So, Kid, where'd you buy that-_HOLY SHIT!"_ he shouted when his foot came to contact with the skateboard. In a blink of an eye, he tried to get off, but the skateboard was slipped forward, and he lost all balance and fell ... his back falling between my legs when he slammed into me backwards.** (A/N: This actually happened to me with my crush last year in gym class ._.)**

We both flew back and I landed on my back, my head bumping the attic floor with a thud.

"Dammit!" I screamed. I felt the boy's back pressed to my crotch, his head of white hair resting on my stomach. My cheeks burned like they were on fire.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry, Maka!" he said, pulling himself up. He was red in the face, but I could tell he was hiding a smirk. He grabbed my wrists and pulled me up.

I snatched myself away from him, snapping, "Oh w-whatever! GOD such an embarrassment!"

Kid and Patti gulped back laughter. "Hey ... you okay?" Kid snickered. "Are you guys all right?"

We both started talking at the same time, him saying, "Oh, we're fine" and me screaming, "Watch where you're going, you god damn idiot!"

"Well how the hell did that skateboard get to the bottom of the ladder?" the boy sneered. "You probably put it there, didn't you? That's so uncool, Maka."

"You know what's uncool? Not telling me your fucking name when you keep on saying _my_ name!" I growled, my fists clenching. "You keep on going, 'Oh, Maka, Maka!' Well why don't you introduce yourself for once? You know my name pretty damn well, so I should know yours!"

He stared at me with that bored expression. Ugh! I hate this guy! He's so inconsiderate and bitter and sarcastic ... everything I'd hate in a guy! Or anyone for that matter!

Then, surprisingly, he held out his hand, a funny gleam in his blood-red eyes. "Oh, well I'm sorry. It's Soul."

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**So, how'd you like it? Review please :D**


	3. Actual Change, Actual Friends!

**K :D this is, of course, the 3rd chapter of Million Dollar Houses. So last night I was wondering if I should stick to Maka's POV or switch back and forth with Soul's POV, but ... idk. I wanna know what YOU guys think it should be - just Maka's point of view or Maka's ****_and_**** Soul's.**

**And I know where the story should go, but I'm having a bit of trouble filling in some gaps. But don't worry. I'LL OVERCOME WRITER'S BLOCK. ^o^**

**Anyways, enjoy~!**

* * *

"Oh, well, I'm sorry. I'm Soul."

I stared at the tan hand that was extended towards me, covered in yellow paint smears. _"Soul?_ That's your _name?"_ I asked. It was unique, but pretty odd as hell.

"Uh,_ yeah_. I wouldn't lie about my name," he snorted. He glanced at his hand then at me, and I reluctantly grasped his hand and shook it.

"Whoa, wait! Hold up," Soul suddenly said. He kept his hold on my hand tightly, and squinted at my face.

"What?!" I said. "Is there something on my face?!"

"You're Maka ... agh, what was it?" Soul's face winced as he tried to grip something in the back of his head. "Maka Albarn! Yeah that's it. That's your name, isn't it? Maka _Albarn?"_

My jaw almost dropped. "How many Maka's are there in Death City do you know of? Of _course_ I'm Maka Albarn. I thought you've figured it out already!"

"I practically live on the streets, okay? Usually, I'm around people who are just about penniless," Soul shrugged, opening another can of paint. "I didn't even expect to run into Death the Kid, son of the mayor of this city. Let alone the vice mayor's _daughter_ too."

I got what he was saying. Being chained to the lower class - at least I assumed he was in the lower class, with the clothes and the attitude - probably brought him to think he'll never cross paths with two of the richest kids in Nevada.

"Your dad," Soul said, breaking into my thoughts. "What's it like coming home to him when he's always around sluts?"

I flushed crimson. "Um, that matter is none of your business."

Kid cleared his throat. I nearly forgot Patti and him were still there. "I'm going to go get a drink," he said, walking out of the door after grabbing his skateboard, which rolled into a corner. "Patti, will you come with?"

The girl abandoned her coloring book and jumped up, pumping her fist Jersey Shore style. "All right! Can I have those animal-shaped cookies?!"

"Of course. You can have the giraffe-shaped ones too," Kid said, smirking at me. "Have fun, Maka."

I forced a laugh. "You have fun too!" I said.

I stared as Kid walked out with Patti skipping next to him. They were nothing alike, but they admired each other's company. Kid, being his OCD, strict self and Patti as the jumpy, fun girl she is, it's like they're worlds apart.

I looked at Soul and me. We barely met, and we're totally different from each other, yet somehow, I can tell we're both attracted to one another.

Oh great ... did I inherit this attracted-to-one-another thinking from Papa? Ugh...

"What's your last name?" I said, trying to think of something other than that bastard at home.

Soul's painting hand suddenly shuddered to a stop, the yellow paint smearing to the left as oppose to straight down. "Damn it!" he muttered, wiping away the excess paint. To me, he said, "Why?"

"Just wondering," I replied, sitting on an empty stool.

"Agh ... I don't have one ... "

"Don't give me that crap, _everyone _has a last name!" I said, swinging my legs. "So, what is it?"

"I ... I don't really think I wanna tell you, Maka," he said, continuing to paint. He stopped for a second to roll up his white T-shirt's sleeve over his shoulder, revealing lean and long yet muscular biceps.

I sighed. "Soul, what's so bad about a last name?" I asked.

He was silent for a few minutes. I thought he'd never answer, but then he said, " ... It's Evans."

I looked at him, raising my eyebrows. "'Evans'? Like Wes Evans, right? That really talented violinist-"

The skinny paintbrush in Soul's hand snapped in half. I swung my head to look at him, but his back was facing to me.

" ... Yeah. Like Wes Evans."

Uhhh ... did I piss him off?

"I think I'll leave it to dry off then start again later," Soul said in that indifferent, bored tone of his, those ruby-like eyes shifting to my emerald ones.

"Okay, cool," I said with a dull little smile. "Come on, let's go downstairs. I'm starving."

As I started walking to the door, I tripped over one of the half-empty cans of paint, my boot getting yellow washed over it. "Ahh!" I cried, trying to grab something to keep from falling, but my arms were left flailing. "Ahhhh-!"

"Maka, jeez, watch out!" Swiftly, I felt Soul put his arms around me and he swung me forward, catching his own balance. He looked behind us and we saw the yellow paint spilling over the white sheets on the floor.

"Oh, no, I'm so sorry!" I flushed. "This isn't like me, I'm being so clumsy-"

Soul just laughed. "We keep ending up like this, don't we?" he smirked, still holding me a foot above the white sheets sputtered in yellow paint.

My cheeks burned again like before. I tried to get out of his arms, but if I touched the floor, my hands would get paint all over them.

Soul pulled himself up with me. "Who would've known Spirit Albarn's daughter was a freaking klutz?" he replied with a laugh. "You're nothing like your ladies-man daddy."

I pulled away from him. "Yeah, and I'm pretty glad about that," I said bluntly.

"Seems like we both don't wanna fit in with our families," Soul said mostly to himself.

"Why, what's wrong with your family?"

He shrugged as he picked up the can of paint that I'd knocked over. "Family tradition said I should become a musician. But my older brother Wes was always the 'top man' and made it seem like I'll never become better than him. So I said, fuck the family tradition. I'll just be a painter and paint houses for the rich old folks."

I stared at him. "Y-you're Wes Evans's younger brother?" I stuttered.

Soul ignored the question, but I knew the answer anyway. So Soul came from a pretty famous family too. Why'd he leave all that money and family behind to live a poor, will-paint-for-money kind of life?

He wiped his hands with a rag. "C'mon Maka. Let's go eat, huh?"

**~X8X~**

"P-PATTI, PLEASE!" Kid cried.

We walked into the living room to find Patti standing in front of Kid's symmetrical painting, which was tilted on a silly angle. Kid was on his knees, begging for Patti to make it symmetrical again.

"No!" Patti snapped. "I want cookies first, damn it!"

"I told you, there aren't any!" Kid whined, holding his fists together like a five-star beggar. "Please make the picture frame symmetrical again, PLEASE!"

Huh ... in other cases, Kid would kick ass if something was asymmetrical. But with Patti or Liz, he'd (usually) _beg_ them so he can make it symmetrical. Maybe it was because the three admired each other so much that they can't genuinely snap at each other. I don't really know.

"Uh ... is he okay?" Soul asked.

"You didn't know? Pres. Death's son is OCD with symmetry," I explained. "Patti, please just do what Kid says?"

Patti pouted. "Kid promised me cookies and now he doesn't have any!"

I breathed out deeply. "This isn't any of our business. Hey, Kid, mind if Soul and I leave for a while?"

"But I'm painting the attic-"

"We'll come back," I assured him.

Soul glanced at Kid whining and yelling, then nodded. "Cool. Let's leave."

**~X8X~**

"Holy shit!" Soul exclaimed as I pulled out a couple credit cards.

"What? Oh, yeah, you're not all rich," I said, handing him one of the cards. "Papa gives me credit cards all the time, like I even want them. For some reason I like paying with actual change."

Soul took the card and stared at it. "Yeah, actual dollar bills are better, but still. Ya know, when I started painting, I promised myself I'd make a million dollars."

I snorted. "How's it going for you?"

His red eyes narrowed at me. "Ah, shut the hell up."

I started laughing, and pretty soon, he did too. He lead me out the door of the Death Manor and walked towards a sleek orange motorcycle parked out front.

For the second time today, my jaw almost dropped. "Wait, so you had enough money to buy THAT?"

"It was handed down to me by Wes. No big deal," Soul shrugged, getting on it comfortably. "Well? What'cha waiting for?"

"Where are we going?" I answered with a question.

He smirked. "Got any friends to hang out with other than Kid?"

I flushed. "N-no ... not really. People don't really like me. I don't even have a girl friend to talk about girl stuff with ... "

"Oh. Sucks for them," he said, pulling me on his motorcycle. "C'mon, we're gonna visit some buddies of mine, since you don't have friends of your own."

Before I can react, the bike revved to life. It shuddered violently and loudly, making me almost jump out of the seat. I wrapped my arms around Soul, and we took off, my ash-blond ponytails waving in the wind. We passed by other million dollar houses, including my own, and I noticed a bodacious silhouette in one of the windows of Papa's room bending down and out of sight.

In a second, I boiled in anger, my vision becoming watery. That shitty excuse of a father never keeps even the simplest of promises ... not even to his own daughter.

"Okay, we're here." The bike slowed down in one of those middle-class neighborhoods. We parked outside a big white house - although not too big - with an orange shackled roof. Soul and I got off the bike, and he walked me up to the door.

"S-Soul, I don't think I wanna," I said.

"No, I'm helping you out, Maka. I think you're too cool to have no friends," Soul grinned. I stared at his smile, his white teeth jagged much like a shark's.

He pounded on the front door. "Yo BLACK STAR!"

'Black Star'? Eh, must be a nickname.

"Open up, bro!"

Then, the silver knob shook and twisted. The door swung open, and a tall girl with silky black hair greeted us, her deep blue eyes calm and kind. She was gorgeous. I wished I was as pretty as her.

She grinned at Soul, then looked blankly at me.

"Oh ... Tsubaki," Soul said. "Is Black Star in there?"

"Of course," the girl said. "Who's this?"

"NO FUCKING WAY!" a loud kid's voice boom.

Oh, no. I can already tell he's annoying.

"You're going out with the vice mayor's _daughter?!_" a blue-haired boy yelled, appearing next to the girl Tsubaki. "When the hell did this happen, man?! You gotta teach me how to get a rich girl like that!"

Soul's red eyes widened, and he flushed along with me. God, my cheeks have been blushing way too much.

"We met and decided to hang out, that's all," Soul assured him. "Can we come in?"

As the two let us enter then walked to another room, I whispered, "We couldn't just go buy ice cream or something?"

"Maka, we can go buy ice cream after you have some girl-bonding time with Tsubaki," Soul said. He laughed at my expression. "I want you to meet my friends so you can have some of your own, okay?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I grumbled.

Soul put an arm around my shoulders. "That's what cool guys do. Now, come on."

"Ehhh," I uttered as we went to Black Star and Tsubaki's TV room.

* * *

**Meh, not my best ending for the chapter xD but I feel kinda lazy.**

**So, please please please review and tell me how it was. All authors need feedback, am I right?**

**K thx bye! :3**


	4. MyMillionDollarHouse

**Thx sooooo much to those who reviewed! So for now I think I'll just stick to Maka's POV. I think it's easier for me. But if you guys want the chapters to swap POV's, then just say tell me :3**

**Anyways, on with the story!~**

* * *

I stayed at Black Star and Tsubaki's house till twelve midnight. I didn't wanna go home, no, not after seeing a woman's silhouette in Papa's window back home at the mansion.

So Tsubaki and I talked a little, and I realized we had some things in common, as in books and food, although I was a much bigger reader, and she was a much more amazing cook, judging from all the spices and stuff she kept sprouting out.

When Black Star asked Soul how we met and why he brought me over, I gave him a look, and Soul was smart enough to keep my "no friends" thing off topic. I didn't want to be embarrassed already.

All four of us sat on the soft white plush couch. Soul turned the television set on, saying, "See, Maka? Isn't this fun? Just chilling out with friends and-"

A porn movie popped up on the plasma screen TV. Immediately, Black Star and Soul yelled, "GOD DAMNNNN!" and both got major nosebleeds at the sight of the almost-naked lady on the television screen.

"What the hell?!" Tsubaki cried, snatching the remote and changing it, her face flushed in humiliation and anger at Black Star. I sat there, not surprised something like _that_ would start up on a normal teenage boy's TV ... and I was used to seeing things like that ... since I have to come home to Papa after he's visited a bar.

"Wow ... men ... " I muttered, trying not to get red in the face in rage. "They're only after the hot bitches, looking over the girls with real personalities and actual morals ... "

I hoped nobody heard me. But too late. No one _did_ hear me except for Soul, who was sinking into the couch beside me. He threw me a small, embarrassed grin, but I only returned a vague smile, then turned away.

"Maka, are you ... okay?" he said quietly, leaning towards me.

"Don't try to touch me after seeing what just popped up on TV," I growled. Tsubaki and Black Star were playfully arguing next to me.

"Uh, sorry," Soul mumbled, shifting his red eyes away from my face and pulling back the hand that was extended towards my shoulder. "And ... Maka? Just so you know, I'm not that kind of guy. W-well, I k-kinda am but I don't even care that you're all rich, a-and ... yeah."

I rolled my eyes. Tsubaki put the channel on a Twilight movie, and Black Star sighed dramatically and tried to change it. Unfortunately, the black-haired girl loved mushy movies, and slapped Black Star away.

"The last movie's basically porn," Black Star sneered.

"Um, no, not really. And they're married, so they have a good reason," Tsubaki snapped. "Now, hush."

"Maka, seriously though," Soul said in a deep tone. "I might seem like a penniless painter who's greedy and would kill to get a girl with stacks, but I DO care about who you really are. Swear to God. That's how the cool guys are."

"It's so late ... " I mumbled, looking at the time in my iPhone.

Soul looked at his watch, which was probably silver once, but was almost completely covered in multiple colors of paint. "Oh, shit! I didn't notice!" he said.

"What?" Black Star asked. "That it's midnight? I thought you already knew, and all four of us were gonna do some-"

Tsubaki punched his arm in disapproval.

"You need a ride home?" Soul asked me.

Hmm ... I have no idea what neighborhood we were currently in, and I didn't bother to pay attention when Soul and I were on his bike zooming past the streets. I nodded, and we got up.

"Sorry, guys," Soul said to Tsubaki and Black Star as he grabbed my wrist and ran for the door. "We gotta go."

"Oh, you guys wanna be _alone?"_ Black Star wiggled his eyebrows.

Tsubaki strangled him in an out-of-character manner. "Black Star, STAHP!"

Soul and I got out of the house, and he closed the door behind him. We trotted to his bike, and he got on. "Well? Just gonna stand there? ... Why are you smiling?"

"Why are you such in a hurry?" I laughed.

He blushed, like he'd just realized how he practically sprinted out of the house with me behind him. "I wouldn't wanna get your dad mad, now do I? And plus he doesn't even know me, and it's so damn late ... "

I couldn't help but laugh again. Soul really _was_ different from the typical, perverted teenage boy. I mounted myself on his motorcycle and wrapped my arms around him. The bike revved to life, and again, I nearly cried out in surprise. Soul drove the motorcycle off the curb and sped off. We left the warm, sweet feeling of the middle-class suburbs and entered the real city, full of bustling streets even at a late hour. Lights of buildings and street lights illuminated our faces.

Finally, the million dollar houses came to view.

"It's like the house at the end," I yelled over the noise of the bike. "The one with a garden out front and a wide walkway leading to the front."

"What the hell? They _all_ have gardens and walkways to the front," Soul said.

I smiled, my face leaning into the back of his white T-shirt. "The one with the single palm tree out front."

Soon, he found my home. He drooled at the majesty of our house, and parked on the curb. "Whoa. We passed by this house, right?"

I nodded. The dark night sky made the lights of my home even more breathtaking.

"Well ... I guess I'll see you later," Soul said, still sitting numbly on his motorcycle.

"Ah, and don't forget to continue your paint job at Kid's," I said with a smirk.

Soul's red eyes widened. "Oh, crap, I totally forgot I was supposed to come back this morning! Maka, you said we were gonna go back there."

I shrugged. "Sorry, I got lost in time," I replied with a shy little grin.

" ... Need me to walk you up too?" Soul smirked.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "If you want my Papa to yell the shit out of you."

"Fine by me!" Soul laughed, taking my arm and hulling me along to my front door. "I've always wanted to meet the master pimp Spirit Albarn-"

I pulled away from him suddenly, catching my breath. "Please do _not_ call him that ... " I grumbled.

Soul looked at me. "Oh, sorry Maka. That was pretty uncool-"

"MAKA I THOUGHT YOU LEFT YOUR PAPA FOR GOOD! I MISSED YOU SOOOO MUCH!"

Maka's eyes widened. "Oh, great-"

"Maka?! WHO THE HELL IS THIS FREELOADER?!"

* * *

**Yup. It's probably obvious who that last person was XD**

**Welp, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Review! ;DD**


	5. I Hate My Papa Even More Now

**Sup bruh lol. So some of you ****_might _****have noticed how I changed the second genre of the story from Angst to Humor ... partly because of Dancing In Crimson's review lol. Besides, there isn't even any angst in the story.**

**And thx to those who reviewed or Favorited/Followed my fanfic :DD**

***Whispers like Death the Kid on that one episode*: I Lovve Youu~ haha**

**Anyways hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Maka?!" Papa choked, grasping the door frame, his knees shaking. Stupid man. "WHO THE HELL IS THIS FREELOADER?!"

I mentally face-palmed. Soul was next to me, staring with wide eyes. "Uh ... hi."

"WHO ARE YOU?! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY BABY GIRL!" Papa lunged and tackled Soul right outside our front door. Soul tumbled back and fell on his ass, trying to get away from the embarrassment that is my ... "dad."

"Dammit, Papa!" I cried out, trying to pry him off Soul, who was yelling a strangled scream.

"Demon!" Papa said firmly, like he'd realized something important. "You're probably planning to rape my daughter, aren't you?!"

"W-what?!" Soul shouted. "The hell you talking about, man?!"

"You fucking BRAAAAT!" Papa screamed, smacking Soul across the face multiple times, ignoring my yelling.

"Maka, what the h-hell is with your dad, man?!"

_"Okay, that's ENOUGH!"_ I shouted, drying out my lungs and kicking Papa between the legs from behind him. By now our spoiled next-door neighbor Johnny was cussing at us for all the racket, waving a wooden plank at us murderously from his window.

_"W-Wahhhhhhh!" _Papa let out a pained scream. I could see tears running down his face, his dark red hair crazy and sticking out in funny directions. "M- ... Maka ... You ... "

"Get the hell off him," I growled, standing over them angrily. "I'm tired of this shit, _Papa._ And Soul gave me a ride home, so you should be thanking him."

Papa glared at a freaked-out Soul, but he pulled back in my command, standing up awkwardly. "Maka ... the least you could do is come home before midnight, or just call and tell me where you are ... " he said quietly. "I get so worried sick about you, whenever you leave your Papa all alone ... "

"You're _never_ alone," I said back. "You're always going around s-sticking your ass in some slut's business."

Dammit, I _stuttered_. I sounded almost weak back there.

Papa sighed and walked into our mansion. "Tell your ... tell him to go home. Right now."

I pulled Soul on his feet, uttering, "Sorry ... sorry that he's such a dumb ass ... "

Soul forced a dry smile. "It's okay ... it's not the first time a girl's dad tried to kill me," he chuckled.

I raised an eyebrow, even though I liked the sound of his chuckle; it was cute and quiet, like he had a shy side, rather than the assy side he usually puts up.

"I-I mean, my last girlfriend tried to tell her dad about our relationship, but her dad just suddenly snapped ... " Soul flushed. "I ... I guess dads don't like me."

He scratched the back of his head of ice-white hair. "Well ... dads might not like me, but their moms definitely do," he smirked.

I rolled my eyes. But inside, a feeling tugged at my heart violently at the word "mom." I wondered how my Mama was doing ... she hadn't been sending me postcards or e-mails very often.

Would she like Soul too?

**~X8X~**

I woke up, and it was like any other morning ... except there was a huge stack of money on my dresser. There was a note beside it:

_My dear Maka, I had some extra money I found in the car last night and decided to give them to you. I won't be needing it. Love, Papa_

Oh, what the hell?

"Papa ... I don't need all this money ... " I set the bag of dollars on Papa's lap in the kitchen. "You can take it back and use it for your alcohol shit, not that I encourage it ... "

He put down his mug of coffee. "Y ... You don't need it?" he asked.

I was almost out of the kitchen when I said, "I'm going over to Kid's."

"B-But ... you've been there two days in a row now!" Papa protested. "And don't you wanna paint the house with Papa?"

"Get Soul to paint it or something," I grumbled.

"Whoa ... Who?"

"The poor kid you almost beat the shit out of last night in front of our house," I answered in a bitter tone.

Papa didn't say a thing. Good.

But when I was about to open the door, Papa said with a nervous laugh, "Oh, I almost thought you meant the guy who's gonna be painting our house next week, Soul Evans ... they're two different people, right? ... Please tell me right ... Please tell me that brat last night was called Soul Ass-Licker or something ... "

Well, how the hell was I supposed to know?! Could it be that it's the same Soul? Of course, it _has_ to be. One person named Soul is weird enough. Now there could be two? Oh, what the fuck ...

Wait, what? Soul _Ass-Licker?_ What the hell ... ?

Papa was whining softly. "This guy's the best painter in Death City! He doesn't charge a lot and I heard he does an incredible paint job ... It can't be that stupid kid from last night, _PLEASE!"_

"Papa ... " I snarled, looking at him. I resisted the urge to tell him to shut the hell up - again - and just breathed deeply. "If it IS my Soul, that just freaking deal with it ... Bye."

I shut the door behind me when Papa opened his mouth to protest.

**~X8X~**

"Soul was here? Where'd he go?"

Kid shrugged. "I have no idea. But Liz was talking with him before he left. So go ask her, maybe she knows."

LIZ? For some unknown reason, I felt my blood boil. But ... Liz is one of my best friends. And it wasn't like finding Papa with another whore, but more like I'm a four-year-old girl and someone had just taken my Barbie doll and fucked it up, leaving me with nothing to throw rocks at and destroy. It was like something I hate but admire at the same time was stolen from me, and I'm left with nothing to make me feel pleasure and pain at the same time. It was confusing, and it hurt my head and heart. What the hell is going on with me?

"Fine," I grumbled. "Where is she-"

"Hey, Kid? Yeah, see ... last night, Patti had to take a shit, right? But she forgot the way to the bathroom, for whatever reason ... so ... she took a shit under your bed and didn't bother to tell you or anything ... " The brunette noticed my presence. " ... Whoops. You weren't supposed to hear that."

Liz. My veins throbbed at the thought of her trying to make a move on Soul ... But, wait. W-why the hell do I even _care?!_ And Liz isn't even into guys younger than her!

Am I ... jealous? Is it because no guy had ever been so persistent and eager to help me out, and even withheld an attack from my bastard of a father? Probably.

But ... no. After what happened between Papa and Mama, I don't ever want to put all my trust on some boy. Soul can be my friend ... but not my boyfriend or some lame fuckary like that. No, I can be happy on my own.

"No problem, I expect that from Patti," I said quietly, walking past her and towards the door. "Have you seen Soul, the painter?"

Liz nodded. "Um, yeah. He went to some friend's house. Oh, and he kept asking about you ... for some reason ... "

I can feel my face get hot. "He ... he did? Seriously?"

Liz winked at me, right when we heard Kid scream in utter terror from his bedroom without us knowing he sneaked past us.

* * *

**Ehhhh ... I didn't like how this chapter turned out ;n;**

**Anyways, on to other news. I've forced myself so make a schedule for posting chapters, I'm gonna have a new chapter up on Fridays or anytime during the weekend ...and hopefully I stick to it X)**

**So...with all that aside, review and tell me how this chapter was if you'd like:)**

**Ohhh and I almost forgot! So last Thursday my new winter jacket came in. My dad bought it online and I didn't even remember anything about it ...anyway so it's like a deep purple and has black fur around the hood and totally reminded me of BLAIR! *O* OMG! I put it on in front of a mirror and was like, "BLAIR BLAIR BLAIR!~" XD**

**Next time my friend talks about forcing me to an anime convention, I'm definitely going as Blair the cat instead of L xDD I'd make a retarded-looking L anyway hehe**


	6. The Alleyway

**Hey! So, I promised yall a new chapter by Friday ... so here it is! 8DD**

**I'll be introducing 3 more characters in this chapter, btw.**

**Hope you enjoy~!**

* * *

I found Soul.

He was at Black Star's house. I had nothing else to do that day, so I just decided to walk around aimlessly in the middle-class neighborhoods, subconsciously hoping I'd come across that house.

"M-Maka?!" Soul stuttered when I rang the doorbell. "What are you doing here? How the hell did you even find your way?"

"I have a lot of time on my hands," I shrugged. "Wanna hang out today? Or are you busy?"

"Are you kidding?" he grumbled. "Black Star's been passed out-"

"Is he okay?!"

"He just ate a lot. Don't worry about it," Soul replied, walking out of the house and closing the door behind him. "Tsubaki's watching TV inside, and she's not really one to carry conversations, so it's boring as hell in there."

His eyes looked different. They usually had a chilling gleam in the red hue, but today, his eyes looked glum. There were dark circles under them, too. And his white hair ... I never thought it could get any messier.

" ... What exactly were you doing with Tsubaki?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

Suddenly, he got what I meant and became all defensive. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You still think I'd do something like that? You do know Black Star and Tsubaki are practically dating right?! They might not know it, but hey, it's pretty obvious! Who are you, going around_ accusing-"_

I burst out laughing. "I was just joking, silly!" I said. "Come on, we're watching a movie in the theaters. My treat."

"Are you fucking serious?" Soul said with a groan. "That's so _lame._ There aren't even any good movies out."

"I'm trying to pay you back," I informed him.

"For _what? _For introducing you to those two? That was nothing. I was just being cool."

"It wasn't just nothing!" I said. "You got me more friends than just those guys in the Death Manor. If you ask me, it's a big deal for a friendless freak like me. Please?! It'll be fun, I promise!"

"But I've got a house to paint this afternoon," he said in a distraught tone.

He didn't really seem to want to hang out. He wouldn't even look at me. I wonder why.

"Well, okay then," I said quietly. "I was actually looking for you, but if you wanna hang out some other time, that's cool with me."

"Yeah."

**~X8X~**

Well, that sucked. A lot. Now that I don't have anyone to hang out with, since Kid's too busy dealing with the Thompson sisters (especially Patti), I walked around solo. Death City's so alive today, since the sun was beating hotter than usual and there's a lot of kids relaxing outside.

I bought myself a mango milkshake and gulped it down. I pondered on why Soul was so distant, even though it was totally none of my business. He'd been the exact opposite during the two days we'd known each other.

And also, I kept wondering why he'd ask Liz about me. It's weird. I may be all rich, but I'm not that interesting as a person. I was a bookworm and like wearing those granny cashmere sweaters because they're all nice and snug. What would a "cool" guy like Soul see in me?!

Hmmm ... maybe he was wondering why I'm such a nerd when I should be flaunting around with expensive purses and million dollar bills like a normal rich person.

But, obviously, I'm _not_ a normal rich person. Soul can rob me of all my money, like hell if I'd give a damn. He can take Papa too.

I walked down an alleyway. It was empty of people, or anything really.

"Hey. You with the pigtails!"

I stopped in my trails, my body becoming stiff at the sound of the new voice.

"Y-yeah, you! Don't you have any idea where you are?!"

I looked over my shoulder and saw a kid who wasn't there before. He was a few inches taller than me, and deathly skinny. He had big, shaky, light-blue eyes that had an intense, chaotic look to them. And his hair ... it was one solid color that looked like a strange mix of pale pink and white-blonde, and was kind of long and very choppy at the ends, disheveled bangs hanging over his face. He wore a wrinkly white suit with black buttons trailing all the way up his long neck, and the white fabric made his pale skin look even more washed out. He had the sleeves and legs rolled up to his bony elbows and knees.

"Um ... I'm in an alleyway?" I shrugged. "Walking between old houses in the verge of crumbling down?"

In one of the alleyway's old houses came a loud _bang_. The pink-blonde boy's light eyes widened, his irises shrinking in utter terror. "Hurry! Get out of here now!" he yelled. "Before she finds you!"

"What the _hell _are you talking about?!" I said.

He started shaking badly, his eyes staring into mine with fear. "P-Please, listen to me! You have to get out of here NOW! I don't want you to get h-hurt!"

I looked at him funny. " ... What is this? A joke? I don't know what you're talking about ... "

"And you're not supposed to ... " the boy said quietly, the banging from inside one of the houses getting louder. A screech joined in, and soon I started backing out of the alleyway.

Suddenly, I saw one of the houses' door bust open, and a slender, agile woman stormed out. Her short, choppy dark-blonde hair was longer at the part around her face, so long that it was braided and rested on the chest of her fitting black V-neck which had a thin hood flailing at the back. Her baggy jeans were rolled up to under her knees, and her feet were bare, but the uneven, rocky surface of the alleyway didn't seem to bother her. Black snake-like tattoos covered her slim arms. Her angry, golden eyes shifted to the skinny boy a few feet away from me, and she said in a loud tone, "Who the fuck are you talking to, Crona? Get your ass back in the house and kill that damn rat already!"

I stepped back, shocked at this sudden outburst. When the woman saw me, she grabbed a rock from next to her foot and threw it.

She had a good throwing arm.

I shrieked, ducking to dodge the rock. _What's her problem?!_

"I know who you are!" the woman said, her eyes wide. "You're that stupid bitchy daughter of Spirit Albarn, aren't you?!"

"M-Mother, I was just telling her to leave," the skinny boy stammered. "Don't worry about anything."

_Mother?!_ This poor kid's mom talks to him this way?!

"Damn you, you weren't doing anything but standing out here with your dumb ass!" the woman said, pointing into her house. "Get back in and _don't_ come out."

The kid's legs started to get shaky. "If you promise you don't hurt her! I don't l-like it when you hurt random people in the streets!"

"DON'T talk back to me!" she yelled. Before I can react, she sprinted angrily to me and shoved me hard to the ground. "Get the hell out of here! You have NO business in this place, you spoiled little bitch!"

I shook. No adult had acted so harshly towards me. I yelped as I got up, not looking at her.

"Run! Get outta here!" the boy yelled to me, his eyes wide and concerning. "Mother, p-p-please-"

I was still frozen in my feet. There are some seriously crazy people around here!

"You've already pissed me off this morning, so just shut your fucking face!" the woman screeched to the boy. When she saw I was still standing there, my knees buckled in fright, she angrily dug in her pocket and brought out a simple gun, pointing it right in my face. Her eyes were on fire and glared into me. "The hell are you waiting for? Get OUT," she said bitterly, trying to maintain a calm voice. "OUT!"

I felt my heart beat faster than ever before. For once I was glad Papa was the way he was, instead of being some psycho parent like her.

My palms and forehead sweat, and my breathing stuttered dangerously. Why was she acting so angry?! What the fuck is going on?!

"M-Mother, NOO!" the skinny kid cried. He ran as fast as he could at his mother. Right when the woman pulled the trigger, he crashed into her, sending the bullet off to a random direction.

I screamed, stumbling back and standing up, almost falling back down in the process.

"W-what's wrong with you p-people-" I whispered, too afraid to speak out loud.

The woman was half-unconscious from when her son jammed into her. The boy ran shakily to me and grabbed my shoulders. "I warned you, now go before she tries to kill you again!" he cried out. "She's ... she's not right today ... GO!"

But too late. The woman, still half-unconscious, walked unsteadily to us and smacked her son, pushing him out of the way. "I don't need more bullshit-!" she started to scream.

Another hand grabbed her wrist firmly before she could hurt me anymore.

"Now ... what in the world do you think you're doing?"

The mayor of Death City gripped the woman's wrist, his golden eyes shining. Police officers stood behind him, their guns and cuffs ready for the call. Pres. Death always liked being the one in charge, so no doubt he'd tell the officers to back off.

The mayor suppressed a chilling smile that was both welcoming and serious. "Medusa Gorgon, it's been long since you've gone crazy again."

Medusa spat at his black, shiny shoes, trying to escape his tight hold of her wrist. "Let go of me, asshole. This neighborhood isn't even part of Death City, so fuck off."

"Oh, yes it is," Mayor Death grinned. "Now ... are you still angry about the time your assassination failed?"

Assassination?

A few police officers carried me by my arms and legs, withstanding my protests.

I saw Medusa slap Mayor Death across his pale face, her breathing heavy. "I didn't fail, that fucking idiot did!" she yelled, pointing at her son, who was getting back up.

"Bitch," I muttered, my eyes wide in shock.

"Oh, Spirit would've loved to kill you himself ... " Mayor Death said wistfully. "Alas, he isn't here, so I'll just have you taken back to prison myself."

"N-NO!" her son spoke up. "She's done nothing wrong!-"

"Yeah she has," I said, standing up and ignoring the police officers who were trying to keep me quiet. "She just treated you like total shit! She almost shot me in the face! She's done a lot of wrong things in a mere five minutes!"

"Maka?" Mayor Death gasped. "I-I hadn't noticed that was you ... What are you doing here? Where's Spirit?"

"Probably at a bar getting wasted," I mumbled.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the chief officer said to me. "No one is to witness Mayor Death doing his job."

"What the hell?!" I said as two officers tried to stuff me into one of the police cars parked nearby. "What kind of shit is that?! I was almost a victim so I have the right to stay here!"

"You fucked up little bastard!" Medusa snapped. "Go kill yourself!"

I felt like she'd literally slapped me across my face. Aside from the other things she'd said to me so far, that was the worst.

"Crona!" Medusa yelled. "What are you waiting for?! Kill them!"

The boy started to shake again. "M-Mother ... no ... "

"What kind of parent encourages their child to shoot another human being?" Mayor Death scolded. "All right, off to prison."

An officer tried to take Medusa when Mayor Death forced her towards them, but one hit to his head and he was out cold. The woman grabbed her gun and shot another officer, but ran out of bullets after four shots, screams filling the air. Mayor Death grabbed her again in a head-hold as another officer handcuffed her, her screeching heard miles away.

It was utter torture to watch ... I didn't want to see this abnormal event play before me ... but I forced myself. The skinny boy didn't seem as fazed, like he sees this same thing happen every singe day.

Crona watched as his mother was cuffed and put in a police car. Ambulances arrived and took care of the officers like it happened every day that officers are killed by a crazy lady.

"Crona, I think you understand that your mother needs to be put in a mental institution," Mayor Death said, brushing off his black suit. "This happens much too often. And you keep putting your life on the line hoping she would become less angry at the world."

"I've never hoped that," Crona said quietly, not moving his poker face. "She's always going to be angry. I just have to keep her occupied ... that's all."

"Right ... " Mayor Death uttered. "Well ... do you know what must happen now?"

He started sweating, his head of pink-blonde locks bowed. "The foster home ... "

Mayor Death nodded sympathetically. "Your mother needs to get better, needs to be kept away from other people so nobody gets hurt. So _you_ won't get hurt. And once she's gone, you'll have nowhere to go but the foster home."

"Either way, I'll still be hurt. If you keep her away, or leave her with me," Crona muttered, his skinny frame bending over slightly. "There's no solution."

For some odd reason, I wished Soul was there with me. Usually, I'm not into all that gross cuddling that couples do ... but I just wanted someone to hold me right now ... Medusa really freaked me out.

"How come I never hear about this crazy lady?" I said, drawing their attention to me. "And who did she 'fail' to assassinate-"

Medusa started beating the shit out of one of the officers, a female one, and as the women fought, Mayor Death yelled and ran to control the crazy lady.

Medusa, still handcuffed, slammed her cuffed fists into another officer's face, blood running down his nose. The mayor and a couple officers got a hold of her, but she still tried to fight back. Crona looked away bitterly, pulling back tears.

A few other officers then grabbed me and stuffed me into a police car.

"Drive her home," Mayor Death shouted. "Be careful Maka. You shouldn't be seeing such an ugly event, but ... oh well. Tell your father I said hi!"

"Noo!" I yelled, trying to get away, but why should I? I was scared, I was supposed to be happy they were taking me away.

The police door shut next to me, and I watched Medusa get tackled by Mayor Death and the officers. She can really put up a fight. I couldn't hear what was going on, but seeing it was enough.

"Albarn Manor, am I right?" the police officer said to me, piling into the driver's seat.

"Yeah." My shoulders sagged, my eyes staying on the scene as we drove away. I saw Crona reluctantly get into another police car, but unlike his mother, he wasn't cuffed.

I thought about Soul, and how he left his family. What if they were like this? They probably weren't. Well, I know the famous Wes Evans isn't a crazy bastard.

Welp. I hope not.

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**And ... I'll stop there. Soooo how was my take on Medusa and Crona? Too much? Too crazy? Yeah, maybe Medusa was a bit too crazy XD But I don't know, tell me what you think of it.**

**Review!~ :D**

**And see ya till next time!**


	7. That God Damn Car Alarm

**Sorry for the late update! D: Shit happened. Plus I've been failing Grammar DX**

**And don't you HATE it when someone you don't even fucking know starts acting like a bitch to you and your "friend" goes along with her? Fucking...UGHH I'm getting pissed off just thinking about it!**

**Anyways, long story short, my life gets involved with more bullshit day after day.**

**But, please...enjoy the chapter~**

**:D**

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So having Soul Evans paint the house was not called for, as Papa states it. But it was too late to cancel the painter. Too bad he knows it's my Soul.

I walked into the living room. Like Kid's attic a few days ago, it was completely covered in white sheets, and the TV and couch were moved out of it temporarily. Papa was sitting in the kitchen in the next room, a deep grimace on his dumb face. He was avoiding Soul, who was painting in our living room.

I went straight to the kitchen, smirking when I saw Soul stare intently at his thick paintbrush as he swept it over our wall, the bright, honey color coming out.

When I was sure Soul was out of earshot, I said to Papa bluntly, "Hey, who the hell is Medusa Gorgon?"

His grimace sank, and a blank look replaced it. "Who?"

"Papa, don't freaking lie to me. Who is she?" I asked. "I came across her a couple days ago-"

"Wait, WHAT?" he jumped. "W-What?! What happened?! Why didn't anyone tell me?! SHE'S DANGEROUS, MAKA!"

"Calm your tits, I was just asking." I didn't sit down but stared down at him. "And you admit you know who she is. Why is she so bad?"

"Maka," he said gravely. "You have to tell me these things. And I'm not saying anything about her. All there is to know is that she's one of the worst criminals in Death City ... Nevada even. That's all you're getting out of me. Besides, shouldn't you be over there with your _boyfriend?_"

I glanced at Soul in the living room.

"Mayor Death needed you there when they caught her," I spat. "But you weren't there to help. You were instead at that fucking bar."

Papa's face got red. "He never needs me."

"Doesn't mean shit."

"Maka, it's already enough you were out with some boy I didn't know about! Now you're telling me you crossed paths with a crazy woman? She could have killed you!"

"She almost did! But the mayor was there and saved my sorry ass, so he did your job for you! You should be thanking him!"

"She almost KILLED you?!" Papa screamed. "No ... no ... I'm gonna go to the prison and demand she get a death penalty-"

"PAPA!"

"Everything okay over there?" I heard Soul say loudly. I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

"And what the fuck is so funny?" Papa grumbled, stomping to where he can see Soul.

"Leave him out of it, he's painting the living room." I rolled my eyes.

"You, young man, need to learn some damn manners-!"

Then, the doorbell rang.

"Oh what, MORE shitty teenage boys?!" Papa cried out in anger, stomping to the front door.

Soul's eyes widened. "Whoa hey-"

Both Papa and Soul stopped talking when they saw Mr. Death at the door. The mayor smiled sheepishly when he noticed how shocked the two idiots were.

"Spirit! Good to see you buddy!" Death said. He cleared his throat. "Um ... can we talk? Alone?"

Papa let him into our big house, and lead the mayor to an empty study upstairs. "Maka, watch that doofus, okay?"

"_You're_ a doofus," Soul spat.

"Whatever." Papa grumbled. "So, what is this about? Is ... " his voice trailed off as he and the mayor disappeared into the second floor, leaving me and Soul standing by the front door awkwardly.

"I'm sorry," I shrugged. "He really doesn't like you. I don't get why. It's not like he'd seen us kissing or something."

Soul flushed. "Yeah, I ... don't get it either."

I looked out the windows and laid eyes on the mayor's sleek black car parked out front. "We should take that out for a ride."

"Seriously?" Soul laughed, rolling up his sleeves higher on his arms.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Just kidding. It could give Uncle Death a heart attack."

"'Uncle Death'?"

"Yes, you aren't deaf. Congrats." I opened the front door quietly and kept my eyes on the black car. I noticed someone sitting in the back seats and wondered if it were Kid. I hadn't seen him for a couple days.

"M-Maka, the hell are you doing?!" Soul panicked. "You just said you wouldn't-"

"I know! Soul, don't worry, I'm just gonna see who's sitting in there. It might be Kid."

Soul exhaled. "Okay, whatever. But when your crack-ass dad comes back down ... "

I laughed. "Snitch on me all you want. I deserve it anyway. Just not from him. This won't even put me in any trouble."

I closed the door behind me and ran to the car. I stopped outside the right side of the back seats and peered into the half-opened window with a big smile.

"Hey Kid-"

That's definitely not Kid. He doesn't slouch like that while sitting down, and he does not have messy pinkish hair.

Confused baby-blue eyes looked up at me. "Oh, I remember you," Crona muttered.

My mouth snapped shut. Where the fuck is Kid?! Why's Crona here?!

"Crona?" I said. "What ... what are you doing there?"

Crona opened his hands with a shrug. "M-Mayor Death's gonna bring me to the foster home today. So, yeah."

He had bags under his eyes. His skin looked even more gauntly and pale.

I remembered Medusa. "How's your mom?"

A sour look came to his face. "I don't know. No one would tell me anything."

I breathed out. "Crona, get the hell out of there. It smells like death," I joked plainly, wrapping my fingers around the handle.

"Whoa wait Maka-" Crona started.

I pulled the door open. Suddenly, the car alarm droned in my ears.

"SHIT!" I cried, jumping back and falling on my butt. "Why didn't you lock the door?!"

I saw Crona face-palm as the car alarm continued to sound. He didn't seem as bothered of it as I was.

I glanced at my house and saw Soul cracking up inside. That bastard, I'll have to kick his ass or something later.

Then I saw Papa and the mayor looking down at me from the second story window. Papa face-palmed along with Crona, and Mayor Death just laughed and said something to him before taking out his car keys and turning the alarm off.

Dead silence.

Soul was still laughing inside the house. Papa and the mayor had walked away from the window.

"You can't just do whatever you want and not expect it to backfire, you know?" Crona said in a dull tone, stepping out of the car and leaning against it, still slouching.

I got up with a flush. "Yeah, yeah, I know." I rolled my eyes. "So ... you've been to a foster home once? But why? You're not an orphan ..."

"I've been neglected. And apparently a delinquent." Crona fidgeted in his plain, over-sized blue shirt. "Mother makes me do things that ends me up at Juvenile Detention."

"You don't even seem like that much of a jack-ass," I noted. "What kinds of bad things does she even make you do?"

He shrugged the question off. "Things." He looked at my mansion. "This is your place?"

I nodded. I remembered that ratty, ghetto neighborhood where I'd first bumped into this kid.

"It's nice," Crona commented, staring at the house, his eyes strained as the Sun shined in his blue eyes. "... Who's that?"

I followed his eyes to where Soul was at inside the house, painting the walls.

"Is that your boyfriend?"

"No." I blushed. "What about you, Crona? Got a girlfriend?"

He looked at his feet as he kicked a rock lightly. "Nope. N-never had one. Mother forced me into dating a few girls but I never considered them my girlfriends. They were all crazy, just like her."

"Tell me about one of them," I said, walking in circles in the grass.

"Well ..." Crona thought. "I remember this one girl. Her name was Eruka. She ... she was the worst. She kissed up to Mother. It was annoying."

"What did you guys do?"

"We just argued. Well ... she yelled at me and I just stared at her. But truly, s-she freaked me out. I hated Eruka. Sometimes she would show affection, but then again I can never be sure if she meant it or not ..."

"I've never been in a relationship," I said. "My dad's too uptight to let me have one..." I glanced at Soul inside my house. He caught me looking and gave me a smirk.

I smirked back. "Well ... maybe I'll break the rules this time."

Crona chuckled. I looked at him, not thinking I'd ever hear him laugh.

"What's so funny dammit?" My face got red.

Crona's chuckle grew into a slightly more audible laugh. "N-Nothing. Hey, the mayor's coming back."

I punched his arm. "Jerk," I smirked again. "I'll get you back for not telling me what you're laughing about."

Crona's bony fingers poked the back of my head when I turned around. I felt his fingers push my head forward playfully.

"Sure you will," he said with a small smile, his azure eyes turning a deep, calmer blue. "Good bye Maka."

"Yeah, bye." I waved to him as he climbed back into the mayor's car.

Jeez ... that kid's something else.

"Hey Maka."

I looked at President Death. "What?" I answered. "What is it?"

"Kid and the girls miss you," he said with a goofy grin as he got into the black vehicle. "That's all." He backed out of our driveway and sped off.

What the hell ... okay then. I'm guessing that was an invitation back to the Death Manor. Like I need one.

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**Oh GOD, this chapter wasn't at all fun to write ;n; So much is in my head right now.**

**So I hope you liked the chapter.**

**Review!**

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	8. How About, No

**oh my god im sorry for those of you who've been waiting for me to update D: there's just a lot of stuff going on...**

**but i wrote this chapter for you's! i was gonna update it tomorrow but i was like, ah, it's been too long.**

**so yup, hope you enjoy~! hehe**

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Soul pulled my hair with a smirk. I felt my face get red as I tried to push him away.

"Don't try to hide it," he said in a low voice, his hands wandering. He pressed my body down on my couch. "There's no use."

"I'm not hiding anything …" I suddenly gasped. I looked down and saw his hand groping my chest, the other pulling at the black string of my … thong?

What the hell?!

Soul frowned when he saw my face. He pulled away and held up my thighs on either side of him. I stared into his blood-red eyes, my feelings becoming numb so I can't even feel my heart beating.

"You wanna take … take it slow?" There's a flash of disappointment in his eyes. "Man, don't pull this shit—"

As if they had a mind of their own, my legs rapidly tightened around the waist of his boxers, and I pulled his head closer to my bra.

"Ha-ha, that's my girl!" he laughs, his hands rubbing up and down roughly. He bit his lip in satisfaction, and then grabbed a spot right below my ass. I let out a scream at how hard he was gripping me.

Soul scooted closer and sucked hungrily on the side of my chest, his smirk still there.

"S-Soul!" I yelped when he bit me. His jagged teeth sink into my skin like a shark biting into an innocent baby seal. I flushed redder, my thick, luscious ash-blond hair in my face.

"That's my name, babe." He harshly grabbed my arms and pulled me up, then shoved me down higher on the couch. He tore my thongs off and opened my legs even wider, his nails digging into my skin like he was biting me again.

"That freaking hurts!"

Tears streamed down my face but Soul doesn't see. I looked behind him at the wall and noticed it was a honey color.

Oh yeah, he painted our house.

Before I knew it, I subconsciously pulled his boxers down. Damn, stop doing that!

"Papa will be so angry at me," I muttered. Then I smiled. "Papa will be so fucking angry, Soul! Wouldn't that be funny?!"

He chuckled, "If you think it is, babe. Now suck my—"

That's when Kid, Black Star, and Crona appeared.

"AHHH!" I screamed in surprise, my face heating up like a microwave. "Oh my god oh my god oh my god this isn't what it looks like!"

"Nah, too late," Soul said. "They've seen us fucking~…"

"Ugh, shut up!" I snapped. "Or I'll stick a unicorn dildo up your ass! A fucking unicorn dildo, Soul!"

His face was of utter terror. "No, please, anything but a unicorn dildo! They make me shit glitter and fuck rainbows but I can't fuck rainbows 'cause I go right through them!"

Crona adjusted the black cap on his head that he was wearing backwards, his cheeks slightly pink like his hair but his face emotionless.

"Wish I was getting laid," he grunted.

"WHOOOO YEAHHHH RIGHT ON SOUL!" Black Star yelled, clapping. He was wearing Tsubaki's cream-colored dress. What the hell? "You're bangin', you're bangin'!"

"M-Maka," Kid wept. "I was supposed to be the one to take your virginity! Damn you, Evans! Oh dear—"

"What the fuck is going on?!" I screamed.

Suddenly, Crona's next to us. His voice was dark … unlike anything else that was happening in the moment. "You can't just do whatever you want and not expect it to backfire, you know?"

Then he blows a horn in my face that sounded just like a car alarm.

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP._

**~X8X~**

I jolted up in bed. What the hell did I just dream?!

My heart was racing. I was sweating.

Oh god … that was … new. I've never had a dream so … so … ew.

I glanced at the clock. It was 12:00 and I overslept.

I groaned and turned over. I only slept late because Papa was lecturing me about "bad, dirty boys."

I don't know if he was referring to Soul or himself when he was probably our age.

I don't need this shit … why can't he just leave me alone? He should be out with Mayor Death dealing with criminals, which he's not. That bastard.

I breathed in and out. Just forget about it. He shouldn't be your problem.

But he is. He's my freaking father for god's sake-

I felt my phone vibrate underneath me. Huh, I forgot I fell asleep with it in my hand.

"Who would text me, like seriously," I muttered to myself. "I thought I was the bratty loser daughter of Spit Al-Fart …"

I snorted. Yeah, lame joke.

I was surprised to see there were two text messages. One from Kid, and the other … from Soul.

Kid's said: _my father told me he spoke with ur dad. Whats going on?_

I sighed and texted, _Idk, I was outside when they were talking. And honestly idc what they were talking about._

_PS: ur dad said u missed me. Lmao u like me dont u :P_

Well … maybe I do know what they were talking about. It's likely the mayor's firing my dad for not being there when they came across Medusa, who pretty much tried to kill me.

Ha. Serves Papa right …

I pressed send and looked at Soul's text: _has the paint dried._

_..._

I blinked. He asked for my number before he left … to tell me this?

I rolled my eyes and texted back, _most boring and monotone txt msg ever. And yeah, ur precious paint dried. And so had my father's throat after lecturing me about u._

For a minute I was going to mention that dream, but, no way. Soul will just think I'm all horny about him, which is so not the case.

I scolded myself for dreaming such things.

And when my dream version of Kid said that … oh lord ain't nobody got time for that.

That's when my phone vibrated, but it wasn't a text.

Kid was calling me.

Oh, what the fuck! He knows how much I despise talking over the phone, but I answered anyway.

I sighed, clearing my throat and trying to ignore my morning breath. "H-Hello?"

I heard breathing on the other line.

"Kid, I can hear you breathing."

"Maka …" he said quietly. "Um, do you mind coming over to my house for the day?"

My eye twitched, but I don't wanna think about why. "Sure. What's up?"

"…" I can tell Kid was uneasy. But why?

"I have something urgent to tell you. Just please come over."

"…Fine," I snorted, trying to keep it light. "I'll be over in an hour."

**~X8X~**

I gaped.

"M-Maka, I am so sorry!" Kid whimpered, covering his face in shame.

I didn't say a thing. What the hell, this is why the mayor spoke with my dad?! It had nothing to do with Medusa!

And it pissed me off so much. This … this is child abuse. Papa planned this shit … behind my back. What else did he have up his sleeve?

And Mayor Death! That grinning son of a … he's no better than Papa!

Kid bit his lip, trying to search my face for something.

"Look, I am so sorry," he said. "I … I don't know what will stop them."

"Lock our dads up, that'll fucking stop them!" I snapped. "There's no way I'm gonna be forced to do something like that!"

For a millisecond, there was something in his eyes but he blinked and it was gone. "Same here. But … we can't convince them to stop—"

"Kid, as much as I think you're amazing and all that jazz …" I saw him tense. "We will not be forced into freaking marriage."

I can't believe it … I can't believe anything. Papa was angry at Soul, at any teenage boy for that matter, because he didn't want me to fall in love.

Am I right?

He only allowed me to hang out with Kid … and busts a nut when he sees me with any other teenage boy.

Because he's planned my marriage. With Kid. What—the—hell.

And to make it worse… Pres. Death was in on it too.

I felt so betrayed, so enslaved. Why are they doing this?

"Why are they thinking about forcing us to marry?" I asked in a dark tone.

Kid's black hair hovered over his golden eyes. "I really don't know … they must want to keep the hand of power in the family … our families."

"That's just screwed up!" I cried, standing up. "Kid, we need to do something about this! I can't take any more of it!"

"You think you're the only one?" he said, his fists forming. "I just found out, and how the hell do you think I feel? I'd hate to be forced into marriage as much as you would, Maka. It's stupid and wrong. Yet I must follow whatever my dad tells me to do. It's nothing but a matter of respect—I'm sorry. I really don't want to do this but if I have to by my father's will, then I must."

"You're crazy!" I sneered. "You're always like that! You follow everything your father wants you to do! Why can't you be like me and just forget about them all, huh? See, now he's gonna force you to marry me and you're gonna follow through even though it makes you sick?"

"You wouldn't fucking understand!" He got completely angry. "My relationship with my father is different from yours with your own father, Maka!"

"Oh? Have you caught your dad cheating on your mom when you were little? Have you tried to sleep through nights full of yelling and screaming, knowing damn well the dirty reason behind all the violence?!"

"No, but—"

"You ever saw your mother cry?" The memory of Mom and the fact I was bringing her up accidently was making my vision foggy. "I hate my father for all the pain he put my mom through! I'm not obeying my dad if he's gonna force me into marriage, and neither should you!"

"At least you knew your mother! I never even met mine let alone saw her cry!"

I stepped back. This was really working me up. I hated it. This dumb, simple idea that the mayor and the vice mayor were forcing their only children to marry just pissed me off.

No wonder the bastard tried to beat the fuck out of Soul. My Soul.

Gah, stop saying that! He doesn't even belong to you!

I stuck my hand in my pocket and rubbed my thumb on the Death Manor spare key.

I have their spare key … it's almost like I'm already married to Kid.

"What kind of shit is this?" Kid mumbled, sitting back down. "Nobody forces their children into marriage anymore … they shouldn't."

I breathed deeply. "I know … I'm not doing it."

"Neither am I."

I felt my phone vibrate and it was Soul: _haha sux for you. and by the fucking way, I hate ur dad. U should ditch him with me for the day._

"…Who is it?" Kid said quietly.

I blinked. "No one," I lied, stuffing my phone away after texting him back. "Hey, I have to leave …"

He stared at me for a moment.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," I shrugged. "We'll figure something out. Bye Kid."

"Bye … bye Maka."

I still don't understand … why do the lamest things happen to me? Why is it always me?

First I catch Papa cheating, Mom leaves, people label me as this bratty little girl and act like total shit towards me and stray away like I have some kind of disease… some crazy woman tries to KILL me, then I find out I'm getting forced into marriage with my best friend.

Not even cool.

Not at all.

I keep myself from punching a portrait of Mayor Death beside the Death Manor's front doors. God, I never thought it would be this easy to turn me against him.

I'm getting so angry … Papa tries to control my life, and no matter how clear I make it that I want to be alone, he still pesters me.

I'm not going back home tonight. Not by a long shot.

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**how was it? bad? good? okay?**

**and again, im so sorry for updating sooooo fucking late! D':**

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